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LeBron James and Stephen Curry have ranked as the favorite NBA players for the past decade, and there is no clear successor to carry the mantle once they retire. The four teams remaining in the NBA playoffs all feature stars with the potential to break away, but no other player has come close to these two since Kobe Bryant’s retirement in 2016. James is 41 and Curry is 38, and neither has advanced this far in the playoffs since 2023.
That leaves the door open for someone to emerge as the next “face” of the NBA.
Only five players have ranked as the favorite on Sports Poll for a full season since 1994-95. With previous favorites, there was always a natural successor waiting to take over. When Michael Jordan retired, Shaquille O’Neal was already established as the next favorite. When O’Neal retired, both Kobe Bryant and LeBron James had already surpassed him. When Bryant retired, both James and Curry were still relatively young stars with national appeal. In 2026, there is a wide gap between James/Curry and the third-highest player, Luka Doncic.
Historically, the biggest stars made their names during the playoffs. Jordan, O’Neal, Bryant, James, and Curry all won multiple championships. With Doncic and the Lakers out, there are four teams and their young stars with an opportunity to move up. The Knicks’ Jalen Brunson (5th most popular in 2025-26), the Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama (7th most popular), the Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (9th), and the Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell (13th) are all still in contention. A repeat championship could make Gilgeous-Alexander a household name, Brunson plays in the largest media market, Mitchell is a high-flying wing like previous favorites, and Wembanyama is only 22 years old. We’ll be watching to see if any of these stars can break away from the pack following the season.
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Sports Poll by SSRS is conducted continuously throughout the year and includes a nationally representative sample of more than 24,000 Americans each year.
